Pacers believe they've upped the ante against Heat

ORLANDO — When Larry Bird, Frank Vogel and Erik Spoelstra pass in the hallways at the Amway Center there only are pleasantries.

While the Indiana Pacers and Miami Heat both are participating in the Orlando Pro Summer League, the teams are not scheduled to meet unless they match up in Friday's playoff.

But to say that Spoelstra and the Heat aren't on the mind of Vogel, Bird and the Pacers would be foolish. Not after Indiana held on against the Heat until a Game 7. Not after the Pacers made the priority at the start of free agency bolstering a bench that proved to be their Achilles in those contentious Eastern Conference finals.

"We have to improve our bench," Bird said in an Amway Center hallway, "and we have to do it in a way that will protect the leads we had this year."

So instead of D.J. Augustin and Sam Young, there now will be C.J. Watson and Chris Copeland, in addition to the hopes of a healthy Danny Granger, with the Watson and Copeland additions expected to be made official Wednesday, the first day signings are allowing during the free-agency period.

"I think it wasn't indicative of any one series or anything like that," Vogel, observing here from the stands, said of the Pacers' bench overhaul. "I think throughout the whole season we struggled with our bench last year."

After stepping away from the game for a year, Bird is back in the Pacers' front office, back again in pursuit of long-time rival Pat Riley.

"The Heat is the Heat," said Bird, who called his team soft when the Pacers lost in the 2012 Eastern Conference semifinals to the Heat. "There's only one winner; they've won the last two years. Everyone else is trying to catch them.

"You've seen a lot of changes throughout the league. A lot of the deals are not done yet, but teams are trying to load up and trying to compete with the Heat. But our team did get better. We were a young team. Lance Stephenson got better, Paul George got better and we hope to continue."

In coming days, the Pacers will see how level the playing field will be this coming season, whether the Heat will sacrifice Mike Miller or Joel Anthony to save against the luxury tax when the amnesty window opens Thursday.

While the Heat are expected to face a significant tax bill regardless of the decision with Miller or Anthony, Bird said the Pacers again will attempt to compete without delving into the tax.

"'Cause we can't afford it," he said matter of factly. "It's like buying a used car and a new car. If you have the money to buy a used one, you better buy a used one. Our owner went out and did everything he could this year so we could be close to the tax.

"We just can't fight the tax. It's always going to be a disadvantage for us. . . . We're always fighting an uphill battle with revenues, but that's part of who we are. We do the best we can with what we have."

With Watson and Copeland at the right price, and with David West re-signed, Vogel is ready for another bid to push past the roadblock that has ended Indiana's season each of the past two years.

"We know that they're the champs. And the way this league is, the history of this league has shown is it's tough to unseat the champs," he said. "They're going to be the mountain that we've got to overcome in our quest to win a championship, in our quest to get to the NBA Finals. We know that they're the team that's going to be in our way.

"So the focal point is this year we went from the second round last year to the conference finals this year. We definitely want to try to take that next step and it's going to mean beating the Heat next year."

Heat top Magic

The Heat improved to 2-1 at summer league with Tuesday's 94-80 victory over the Victor Oladipo and a Magic roster laden with players from their regular-season roster.

Second-round acquisition James Ennis led the Heat with 19 points, with center Jarvis Varnado adding 16 points, again showing a deft touch with his jumper, and guard Ian Clark adding 15.

"The game has slowed down for me," said Ennis, who had a shaky start to the week.

Oladipo, transitioning to point guard, closed with 22 points for Orlando.

"Our guys were excited to play against them," said Heat assistant Dan Craig, who is coaching the team in summer league. "There's no secret they had five guys that are going to be playing with them."